Husted reminds Ohioans that every vote matters

98 races decided by one vote or tied in the past five statewide elections

Staff report

COLUMBUS – Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted recently announced that 23 local races and issues were decided by a single vote or tied during the 2015 General Election on Nov. 3. A total of 98 Ohio races have tied or been decided by a one-vote margin since the General Election in 2013.

“This shows, once again, that one person and one vote can make a difference. Saying one vote is important is more than just a catchy saying, it’s a reality,” said Secretary Husted.

Those races and issues decided by a single vote or tied include 14 local races and 9 local issues. In fact, three Township Trustees from Gallia, Trumbull and Scioto Counties were chosen by the outcome of a coin flip.

Since taking office, Secretary Husted has focused on making it easy to vote and hard to cheat in the State of Ohio by creating an online change of address system, maintaining accurate and up-to-date voter rolls, setting uniform, statewide hours for in-person absentee voting to ensure all voters are treated equally and addressing voter fraud and suppression.

To ensure each voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot, Secretary Husted has urged the legislature to pass an address confidentiality bill protecting victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and stalking by removing their personal address from the public voter rolls. He has also advocated for the authorization of an online voter registration system in Ohio which would create significant cost savings for local governments and be more accurate.